Hello software-savvy Hexbears, I am a person who knows basically nothing about Linux and I’m looking to switch over. I have an M1 macbook (I know, very bourgeois) and I’m not looking to get new hardware. Which Linux distribution should I choose, and what’s the best way to migrate my data over without data loss?
I’m also looking to pirate games once I switch to Linux, so a distribution good for g@ming is preferred.
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(I don’t have a deep level of knowledge on this, hopefully another Hexbear who knows better will chime in.)
Linux on the M1 and M2 chips is still a work in progress, you’re likely to run into some hiccups. The Asahi Linux project is working on support for those chips. There are multiple distros supported on top of their work, but they recommend their branch of Fedora, so that’s what I’d recommend too. You don’t really want to be running a custom version of a custom version unless you’re a hobbyist Linux enthusiast trying to work out the bugs.
Gaming on an M1 in Linux is really going to be sketchy too. You’re running a completely different chip architecture than most games are built for, WINE isn’t enough.
Doesn’t really look like a good idea for the computer you have and the things you want to do with it.
i agree strongly with this: it’s possible but for the use case, not at all a very good idea. the most hobbyist enthusiasts are just now getting some things in asahi running. it’s very much not the correct territory for a complete linux beginner.
+1 for this. Asahi Linux is the only viable choice for M1 macs right now, and it is not feature complete yet, but they are making a lot of progress. KDE can be configured to be very macOS like, so if you enjoy the mac look and feel you can still have that on linux.
If you do decide to use Asahi you can use Box64 to run some x86_64 programs on it. I have used it on my raspberry pi which uses a ARM processor. Be aware that since it is emulating a x86 system there will be a performance hit. It also seems like there is a way to tie in box64 with steam proton, but it is still experiemental
Never used the M1/M2s, but I used to install Fedora on all my Intel macbooks and it always ran flawlessly, so it certainly had good support for apple hardware and peripherals back in the day.
Gaming on an ARM CPU is going to be painful no matter what, but as pointed to, x86 and x86_64 emulators are going to be your best bet. You may find a small number of games also offer a native ARM binary, but it’s not common.
Linux on M1 is still experimental. I wouldn’t daily drive it as a main OS.
Not a good idea imo. I personally use a kali linux vm on VMware but bare metal linux is not good on the ARM MacBook yet.
If you live in a first world country then get a cheap second hand ThinkPad.
Second hand macbooks can still fetch good money if you want to swap it out for something else.
Worth considering if you want to try linux more than you want to stay on Apple architecture.
Linux and MacOs both branched off from the original UNIX in similar ways compared to Windows so linux can look and feel very simialr. Linux just lets you do more with its layout and features
Everybody is saying asahi, and it’s absolutely the most polished Linux running on apple silicon.
I would recommend you not switch to it though.
Unless you have a really good reason, it’s gonna be a tough climb to go from not knowing much about computers to using a very niche and unique distribution of Linux with limited support.
What problem are you trying to solve by switching?
If you have an M1, ur only option is Fedora Asahi Remix. The microphone and usb-c displays dont work yet but there is a fully conformant opengl driver. It will act as a second operating system so you will still have MacOS on your machine. You can dip your toes into GNU/Linux that way.
This means u can play minecraft on it but not say, install games with only x86_64 binaries. You can watch Netflix with DRM widevine but you won’t get the full battery life as you would get on MacOS (but still really good). If you are looking to game then u should just get a Steam deck (which still allows you to pirate games and you don’t have to buy anything on Steam to use all its features). Gaming is still a x86_64 dominated space.
M1 isn’t going to be great.
Second hand Thinkpads are popular for a good reason. I’d suggest picking one up for cheap and using that over Mac hardware.
